Hollow Creek's Shadow

The flickering candlelight casts long, dancing shadows across your workshop, illuminating dust motes swirling in the air. A chill, not entirely from the late autumn wind whistling through the cracks in the boarded-up windows, settles deep in your bones. Tonight, the veil is thin. Tonight, *they* listen. You are Elias Thorne, a practitioner of the esoteric arts, a scholar of forgotten lore, and a reluctant guardian against the encroaching darkness. Years ago, a desperate ritual saved your town, Hollow Creek, from being swallowed by something ancient and malevolent lurking beneath the old mill. But the price was high. The ritual bound you to Hollow Creek, tethered you to its fate. Now, you feel the familiar prickling on your skin, the low hum in the air… the darkness is stirring again. The letter arrived this morning, slipped beneath your door – a heavy, cream-colored envelope sealed with black wax imprinted with a symbol you haven't seen in any grimoire. The handwriting is spidery and unfamiliar, yet somehow… knowing. It speaks of strange occurrences plaguing Hollow Creek: livestock disappearing, unsettling dreams invading the townsfolk's sleep, and whispers in the woods – whispers that seem to call out specific names. You clutch the worn leather-bound journal on your workbench, its pages filled with arcane symbols and hastily scribbled notes from your past encounters. The last time the darkness encroached, it almost consumed you. You still bear the scars, both visible and invisible. But there's no escaping your responsibility. Hollow Creek is under your protection, whether you like it or not. And judging by the increasingly frantic banging on your workshop door, your services are needed sooner rather than later. "Elias! Elias Thorne, are you in there? It's Martha! Something's… something's taken little Billy! He vanished right from his bed!" The banging intensifies. The candles flicker wildly, casting grotesque shadows that seem to writhe and twist on the walls. You take a deep breath, reach for your battered oak staff leaning against the wall, and steel yourself. Tonight, you face the darkness again. Tonight, you decide the fate of Hollow Creek. Answer the door, Elias Thorne. The nightmare awaits.